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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25263058">Kiss It Better</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/RensSaxophone/pseuds/RensSaxophone'>RensSaxophone</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Uta no Prince-sama</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 07:01:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,259</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25263058</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/RensSaxophone/pseuds/RensSaxophone</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's both Masa/Ren angst and Toki/Ren fluff</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hijirikawa Masato/Jinguuji Ren, Ichinose Tokiya/Jinguuji Ren</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Kiss It Better</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <i>Ren and Masato had just been at home. They had been married for less than a year but dating for nearly twelve and engaged for almost three. Masato moved slow and luckily Ren was alright with it. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>That night they had just been cuddling together on the couch, a book in Masato’s hand and Ren’s phone in his. It was calm and relaxing- two cups of tea sitting on the table in front of them. They had been retired for a very long time. It was nearing five years.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>They were content. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Happy. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>And then the door had opened. Masato normally locked it, but that night he must have forgotten. A man walks in, and two things happen very quickly. The man is dressed in dark clothing, a duffle bag slung over his shoulder and a gun in a gloved hand. As the man lifts the gun to aim at Masato, the man closest to the door, Ren leaps up. Masato hears Ren’s phone hit the ground, shattering, and Masato loses his balance on the couch, the book falling to the ground with a much more muted thud. The gun goes off with a noisy bang. It’s one sharp noise and then quiet- until the gun hits the floor, dropped from the man’s grip. The bullet should have hit Masato. It would have hit Masato, if Ren hadn’t shoved his way in front of him. Masato can’t get off of the couch fast enough to catch Ren when he crumples to the ground. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>The gun remains on the ground, but when Ren falls Masato catches a glimpse of the man’s shocked face. As if he didn’t know he pulled the trigger. As if he planned to not use it. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Why would you bring a gun if you didn’t think you’d use it? </i>
</p><p>
  <i>The man moves. The man moves further in their house. Masato can’t watch him. He can’t see what the man is doing because he’s on the floor, to cradle Ren. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Ren is alive, but Masato thinks that it’s barely. The bullet hit his chest- and if it hadn’t struck his heart, it was close. Masato didn’t know much about medicine. He didn’t know much about the human body. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>He knew that Ren didn’t have very long left. Ren would be lucky to survive the length of a phone call for an ambulance, let alone survive the time it would take for them to get there. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Ren was already so pale. He had been wearing a white shirt and the blood was blooming, staining the shirt in a way that almost looked like a pattern. It reminded Masato of a rose. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>It was the worst rose he had ever seen.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“I-” Ren coughs, when he begins talking. Masato doesn’t want Ren to be in more pain, but he can’t tell him to stop talking. Not when he knows. They both know. Ren has tears brimming his eyes. Masato can’t remember the last time Ren had looked so… afraid. “I don’t want to go Masa. I’m not ready.” Ren’s next cough comes with blood and it ends with a sob that only sends the blood trailing down his chin in a straight line. A hysterical laugh bubbles in Ren’s chest, and it ends in a coughing fit, and he gives Masato a shaky smile, his normally perfect, pearl white teeth now stained red with his own blood. “Kiss me? One last time?”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Masato is sobbing. He wants to stay strong for Ren, but how can he? “I’m sorry.” Masato sobs. “I’m sorry.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Ssh, baby.” Ren cradles Masato’s face. He’s smiling, but his face is twisted in pain and his hands are already so cold. Ren’s hands were normally warm. Masato would sometimes make jokes with Ren in the winter that Ren was his heater, especially with how cold Masato ran. “It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault.” It was clear it was difficult for Ren to talk. It was probably difficult to even think, but he was pushing through it. “It’s not your fault. I love you.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“I love you, Ren. I love you.” Masato’s sobs are growing in his chest, but he finally holds them back. Ren’s blinks are coming slower, but Masato presses his lips to Ren’s. He feels a tear roll down Ren’s cheek, and he fumbles to wipe it off. He presses more kisses to Ren’s face, anywhere he can. He knows Ren’s blood is over his hands, and his shirt and his face, now, too, because Ren’s mouth was covered in blood, but Masato doesn’t stop.</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Masato presses a kiss to Ren’s forehead. When he pulls back, he realizes that Ren’s eyes are open. Glassy. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Masato realizes that he’s gone. He cradles Ren’s head to his body, holding Ren so tightly that if Ren could feel it, it would hurt. Masato’s eyes lift and they land on the gun, still laying on the floor. Masato is gentle when he sets Ren’s body down, and he stands, numbly, to go to the gun. Masato cocks it, his mind already made up. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Masato had never felt a pain like this. Not when he was disowned. Not when he lost his parents. Not for the ten years that he and Ren were either apart or fighting. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>The man is still in the house. Masato catches him on the way out of their bedroom window with a bag full of their stuff. Masato doesn’t hesitate to aim. He doesn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. The man is so close that it doesn’t matter that Masato has never shot a gun. It doesn’t matter that Masato drops the gun when it recoils. The man falls out of the window, and Masato only stops long enough to make sure the man has stopped moving. The bag of his and Ren’s things are outside with the man, but Masato can’t care. He’s numb, heading back to the living room. He moves, to go back to Ren’s body. He sits down and then sits Ren up, to pull Ren into his lap. He was heavy, and he was quickly growing colder, and his blood was covering Masato thoroughly but Masato didn’t care.  He couldn’t. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>He reaches behind him, to take Ren’s shattered phone. He unlocks it. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>He calls the police and tells them that two people have been shot. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Masato cradles Ren’s body until the police come and force him out. When they question him, Masato recounts the situation in a flat, emotionless voice. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Masato had never felt so much pain that he had just shut down until now. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>It’s not long until Masato finds himself in a cell by himself. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>He lays down on the bed, curled in on himself, facing the wall. He hadn’t said a word since Ren’s death. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>As he stares at the wall, he cries. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>He would be in this cell anywhere from twenty five years to the rest of his life- but what did it matter? Ren <b>had</b> been his life. The happiest moments of Masato’s life had been with Ren. He had killed the man, but it wasn’t enough. Ren was gone. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Normally when Masato was upset, Ren would sit on the bed by him and pet through his hair. It was the quietest Ren usually was. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>Masato cries harder. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>If he closes his eyes and really focuses, he can almost feel the feather light touch of Ren’s fingers running through his hair. </i>
</p><p>
  <i>“S-stay with me?” Masato’s voice breaks. “Please?”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>The faint, fleeting feeling is gone before he even opens his eyes.</i>
</p><p>To say that Tokiya was <i>bawling</i> would be an understatement. Tokiya was <i>heartbroken</i>. His crying was ugly, and it was enough to shake his shoulder and stuff up his nose. It quickly grows to something almost like wailing. </p><p>Ren was supposed to be out for most of the night on a job that was running late. Tokiya was supposed to be alone- so he almost panics when the door opens. He can’t stop his crying, and his face is an absolute mess, stained with tears. It would be covered in snot, too, if it weren’t for the eight tissues he had crumpled up next to him. His eyes are wide, giving him an almost insane look, and Ren matches it with a wide-eyed look of his own. </p><p>Tokiya is the first to move, trying to cover his face and fake laugh and head towards his bedroom. “It’s nothing! Ignore me!” Tokiya’s face wasn’t red from just the crying anymore. He was just trying to make it into another room, but Ren had seen his face. Tokiya had no chance. </p><p>The door is closed quickly and Ren has caught up with him easily. </p><p>Tokiya always had been the slowest of his bandmates. Ren included. </p><p>“Hey, no, baby, please talk to me.” Ren’s voice is calm, but Tokiya can tell that he’s panicked. Tokiya can’t blame him. </p><p>“Ren, really, it’s stupid. It’s nothing serious.” Tokiya is still crying, which doesn’t help prove his point. Ren won’t let go of him. He has him in an embrace from behind, his arms wrapped completely around Tokiya in a tight grip to keep him pressed against Ren’s chest. Tokiya wasn’t trying to struggle away, but if he were, he’d have no chance. </p><p>“It can’t be stupid if you’re this upset, Toki.” Ren insists. Ren’s head ducks, pressing his nose to the corner of Tokiya’s jaw. </p><p>“It was a fanfiction.” Tokiya winces. “It was a story I came across on the internet. I told you it was silly.”</p><p>Ren’s worry hasn’t lessened at all. “What was it?”</p><p>The question and the reminder gets another sob out of Tokiya. </p><p>“Okay, okay- don’t force yourself. If it’s going to reupset you, you don’t have to tell me.”</p><p>“It’s silly.” Tokiya says weakly. </p><p>“Can I read it baby?” Ren asks softly. “So I can know what upset you so badly?”</p><p>“It’s…” Tokiya hiccups in his hesitation. “It’s you and Hijirikawa.”</p><p>“That’s alright. I just want to know what about it made you so upset.”</p><p>Tokiya shrinks in on himself, just a bit, but he nods. Ren gently pulls Tokiya with him. “I still want to keep you close, baby doll. I don’t want to leave you alone.” </p><p>Ren heads to the couch where Tokiya had abandoned his phone. Ren hadn’t actually let go of Tokiya’s waist, and when Ren sits down on the couch, Ren pulls Tokiya next to him, holding him tightly with one arm, and taking Tokiya’s phone with the second. </p><p>“Oh, darling.” Ren says quietly. He sets Tokiya’s phone down and he pulls Tokiya onto his lap. </p><p>“I still think you’re being too considerate.” Tokiya mumbles. His voice is shot. “Too worried about me, for why I’m upset.” Tokiya can’t help but curl into Ren, despite his words. </p><p>“Toki.” Ren’s voice is soft, but he draws out Tokiya’s name. “If I read this story and it was you in place of me- or if it were you instead of Hijiri… I’d be incredibly upset, too. I don’t even like to <i>think</i> about anything hurting you.” Ren cradles Tokiya. Tokiya is curled up in the fetal position, which just makes it easier for Ren to hold him. “It isn’t silly at all. I wish you’d be more gentle with yourself, baby. It’s okay to be upset. Don’t invalidate your feelings.” Ren then gives him a smile, though there’s still a concerned edge to it. Ren grabs Tokiya’s phone, unlocking it and leaving the page. Tokiya can’t see what he’s doing, but he stays on the phone for a long moment, rubbing Tokiya’s back. </p><p>He finally sets down Tokiya’s phone, face down, and his hand doesn’t still. Tokiya has stopped crying, but he’s still dealing with the after effects of it- the sniffles and the shaking and the heavy breathing and stuffed nose. Ren kisses Tokiya’s temple. </p><p>“I should get you some tissus.” Ren sighs. “But I have to get up to do that.”</p><p>“The box is on the floor.” Tokiya’s voice is thick. “I grabbed them earlier.”</p><p>“Good.” Ren cranes his head to find the box, sighing in a bit of relief when he finds it. He lifts it to wipe Tokiya’s face and Tokiya just lets him. </p><p>“You’re home early.”</p><p>“We finished sooner than expected. And I’m glad we did.”</p><p>Tokiya just nods. They sit in silence for a long moment, and then there’s a knock on the door and Tokiya starts. Ren kisses Tokiya’s temple. “Sorry, baby. I forgot to warn you, but it’s alright.” </p><p>Tokiya is still a bit startled, and very confused, but he begrudgingly lets Ren let go of him. Ren stands to get the door, and he takes a bag with a thanks. “Stay there for a minute, baby, alright?” Ren says when he closes the door. Tokiya watches the bag, interested and confused, but he nods. He hears Ren fumbling around in the kitchen and hears things being set down in the dining room table before Ren comes back for him and holds out his arms. Tokiya gets up, to pull Ren into a hug. </p><p>“You’re cuddly.” Ren mumbles, his cheek pressed to the side of Tokiya’s head. Ren’s voice gentles in the worst kind of way. “I’m alright. We both are.”</p><p>Tokiya doesn’t say anything, he just leans into Ren’s grip for a long moment. When they finally pull away, Tokiya’s face shifts, almost into a wince, but he heads past Ren to lock and bolt the door. When Tokiya turns, he just barely catches Ren’s expression relaxing, but Tokiya doesn’t miss the way Ren’s eyebrows had pulled together. Tokiya chooses to take Ren’s hand, but Tokiya’s glancing away. Ren lifts his hand to press a kiss to the back of it.</p><p>“Don’t feel bad.” Ren reminds. He actually stops, to tilt up Tokiya’s head. Tokiya is sure that his face is a mess, but Ren doesn’t seem to mind when he leans in to press his nose to Tokiya’s. They’re alone in their apartment, but this moment still feels more private. “Of course I prefer seeing you happy, Toki, but that’s not reasonable for all of the time. So when you are sad, I don’t mind caring for you until you feel better.”</p><p>“...I shouldn’t be.” Tokiya sighs. “I know what you’re telling me, but I just… don’t know. I don’t feel right.”</p><p>“You’ve always been very affected by what you read, Toki.” Ren’s hand lifts and his thumb runs across Tokiya’s cheek. He gently presses a short kiss to Tokiya’s lips, and finally pulls away with a small smile. Tokiya can’t miss the worried edge. “We should go to the dining room.”</p><p>Ren takes Tokiya’s hand again, and they finally make their way to the dining room. Tokiya’s face softens when he takes in the table, moving to lean his head against Ren’s shoulder. Tokiya immediately sees what Ren had ordered when he sees the two slices of cake, strawberry and chocolate, set in front of their respective chairs- and in front of Tokiya’s plate of chocolate cake is a glass of milk. Without touching or tasting it, Tokiya is already certain that Ren has warmed it, and he’s almost sure that he’s added honey because Tokiya knew very well that Ren knew his favorite drinks and this was one of them.</p><p>Despite the fact that there are only two of them, they have four chairs set at their table, and usually Ren sat to Tokiya’s right. Tokiya notices that Ren’s chair is already pushed closer to the edge, to be closer to Tokiya. Tokiya’s throat feels almost a bit closed off, but the tears that prick his eyes are different. Tokiya turns, hiding his face in Ren’s shoulder, and Ren’s hand lifts. Tokiya feels Ren’s lips press to the top of his head. </p><p>“Thank you.” Tokiya’s voice is quiet. </p><p>“Of course.” Ren smiles at him. Tokiya doesn’t need to see it to know. Ren gently squeezes Tokiya’s upper arm. “Why don’t we sit down?” </p><p>Tokiya nods into Ren’s shoulder and he finally manages to pull away from Ren, though he shifts his own chair closer to Ren’s. When they both sit, their knees press together beneath the table. </p><p>They eat in silence- but their eyes meet often. It isn’t an uncomfortable silence, and Tokiya really does feel a bit better with his knee touching Ren’s, and Tokiya didn’t often eat dessert- and it tasted much better because Ren had gotten it for Tokiya to try to make him feel better. </p><p>In Tokiya’s opinion, that was already above and beyond what Ren was expected to do to comfort Tokiya- but Tokiya isn’t surprised when Ren continues. For the first time tonight, Tokiya stops resisting. </p><p>Ren can tell, and it softens his smiles. Ren wouldn’t say that he was <i>happy</i>, because Tokiya still clearly feels a bit off- but he’s still glad that Tokiya has finally decided to let Ren take care of him.</p><p>“I’ll take care of the dishes in the morning.” Ren assures, taking Tokiya’s dishes as he stands. Ren slides Tokiya’s plate onto his own. “I’ll drop them in the sink and handle them later.”</p><p>Tokiya stares, for just a second, but Ren just smiles at him and then goes to set their dishes in the sink. When he comes back, his hand slides around Tokiya’s waist. “Will you join me in the bedroom?”</p><p>Tokiya goes into his side and he nods. He holds onto Ren’s shirt, but his admittance is a bit quiet. “I think it’s going to be some time before I can fall asleep, Ren.”</p><p>“It’s still early, baby.” Ren assures. “I’m not going to make you go to sleep until you’re ready.”</p><p>As Ren speaks he begins to lead Tokiya into the bedroom. “Why don’t you get comfortable and climb on the bed? I have an idea.” Ren’s smile holds a bit of restrained excitement. Tokiya watches him, but he only ends up nodding. Tokiya goes to the closet, but he hesitates, looking over his clothes. Ren gives him a moment, but then Tokiya feels Ren press against his back, reaching around him and taking one of Ren’s t-shirts to offer it to Tokiya.</p><p>Tokiya takes it, and Ren tilts his head to kiss Tokiya’s temple before he steps back. Tokiya ends up stripping to his underwear and only putting on Ren’s shirt. Ren had gone the other way, slipping on a pair of sweatpants but leaving off his shirt. It does put Tokiya at ease, knowing that Ren really wasn’t planning to sleep yet, because Ren normally slept naked. Ren pulls one of the smaller blankets from the closet and wraps a blanket tightly around Tokiya. “Why don’t you head to the bed? I’ll be right there.”  </p><p>Tokiya chooses to sit just off center in the middle, huddled up in the blanket. He watches Ren, but his eyebrows furrow when Ren grabs a slightly tattered book, one that Tokiya immediately recognizes as one of Tokiya’s favorites. Ren climbs into the bed, to press himself against Tokiya. When Ren opens the book, Tokiya understands, and he rests his head against Ren’s shoulder when Ren starts to read. </p><p>Ren’s voice is low and soothing. Tokiya isn’t sure that Ren has ever read out loud to him before, but as Tokiya closes his eyes to listen to his voice, he finds himself planning to ask Ren to do it again. </p><p>Tokiya had expected to have a lot of trouble falling asleep tonight, but by the time Ren hits the third chapter, Tokiya is already out.</p>
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